Custom Robo Advent
by Hellbat Schilt
Summary: Abandoned by the researchers who created him, shunned by almost everyone around him, a newly built, human sized Custom Robo wonders why he was created. He is neither fighter nor civilian. He must find himself and determine his own future and what he is. Rated T for violence.
1. The Boy

**Custom Robo Advent:**

**Chaos Theory**

"I can feel the energy flowing through me!" the girl in the pink shorts, shirt, and cap said.

A group was gathered around her, composed of people of various personalities, clothing, ages, and status. All were united in one goal: giving the girl enough energy to save the boy that had fallen to a golden robo named Hadron.

The room was wired in the floor that was designed to look like the wiring of a circuit board. At one end of the room, behind Hadron, a man lay dead, his life energy sapped completely. It was his life that had given birth to Hadron's newfound invincibility.

A small figure in the corner, close to the ceiling, watched, giving his own energy to the girl. She wouldn't know. She only cared about the kid that had fallen.

And that was all right. _Someone_ had to fix this mess that Greybaum, a terrorist group, had made.

"Take it, Vil!" the girl said to the fallen boy. "This is our energy! _Our_ ambition!"

The girl relaxed and took a deep breath, her palms facing the fallen boy. A light flowed gently from her palms, entering the boy's body with a fluid grace. Immediately, the red-haired boy climbed to his knees, a new energy returning to him.

"This is your last chance, Vil! Defeat Hadron!"

"You still resist me?" Hadron made a snorting sound, slightly distorted since combat robos were not made to talk. Vil gazed defiantly at Hadron and nodded. "Then you die. I will rule the world! And you will not stop me!"

The boy's robo paused and burst into a gold armor. Hadron did the same, mimicking the fight that had previously defeated Vil.

But this fight was different. Vil's shots damaged Hadron and his robo sped up, preventing Hadron from overwhelming him as before. Vil managed to land shots, but took heavy damage from Hadron. Vil gritted his teeth and threw his bot into a seeming frenzy, attacking Hadron from all sides and landing heavy blows.

At the end, Hadron bowed, holes blown in his body. Vil's bot stood. Dirty from the temporary golden armor, called Soulboost, yet victorious.

"I... No!" Hadron yelled before exploding from the inside out.

The room became quiet, a solemn hush taking over.

"I... Is it over?" another man, about twenty one years old, asked. Everyone knew him. Even _I_ knew him. This was Eddy. The robo cup champion as of one year ago. He was the girl's brother.

"We... we did it!" Dennis, a boy in a green t-shirt, said, overjoyed at Vil's victory.

Liv sagged backwards slightly from the energy drain she had taken from unwillingly giving energy to Hadron. Then from the drain of saving Vil.

"We did it," she said quietly. "We finally... did it." She fell to her knees.

"Liv!" Eddy exclaimed, rushing to her side. "She's unconscious again..." His expression became soft. He knew there was nothing to fear now. Hadron and Greybaum's leader were gone. He smiled, ever so tenderly. "It's all right, Liv... You did good. Get some rest." The room became quiet again. Finally, he looked away from the unconscious girl. "Liv, I left you to suffer on your own. I thought I knew what was best for you."

Anguish filled his face, remembering when he had first left her. I was there when she first found out that he departed on a training mission for the International Police Corps. "I was wrong..."

"Eddy..." Dennis said quietly. "Will Liv be all right?"

"I... I think she'll be fine." He became silent again. "In fact, I wonder if she might not be better than fine."

"Better than..." another man, around Eddy's age, said. With blond hair like his, anyone could tell who this man was. His hairstyle was kept long and flowing. This man was called Hunter, a famous Hollywood actor. "Do you think she'll... she'll be able to dive again?"

The boy in the corner perked up. _Dive _again_?_ Liv had been able to dive before?

"You read my mind, Hunter," Eddy said, smiling as he put one hand in his brown jacket's pocket.

"What do you mean?" Dennis asked quickly, getting excited.

"When Hadron used Liv, she was diving. She was diving into Hadron just like any of us might."

The boy felt his jaw lower in awe just ever so slightly.

"But Hadron was just manipulating her. Using her as a power source. Wasn't it?" Dennis asked. There was a certain hope in his voice however.

"How it happened doesn't matter," Eddy said. "She was diving. Hadron forced her into a dive..." He smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek. "And I think that might've restored her diving abilities again."

"I don't sense that weird energy coming from Liv like I used to," Hunter said. Ah yes. Hunter was some sort of psychic, able to read the brain waves of commanders like Eddy and Vil. "It's almost like Hadron acted as a filter, drawing all the bad energy into itself. She feels... cleansed."

"Liv," Dennis said solemnly, smiling gently with his fist clenched hopefully. "She'll dive again..."

Dr. Geary, a robo researcher and also Vil's father, walked up to Vil's back and placed his hand on Vil's shoulder.

"Liv did well," he said. "And so did you, Vil. You both did more than we could ever have expected." He smiled and patted his son's shoulder. "You and Liv both provided the foundation of Hadron's strength and power... I'm just glad that the two of you combined were more than Hadron could handle." He gazed at the group around him, noting each one's contribution of energy. "And it would have been impossible if not for the help of all your friends. Thank you, everyone!"

He looked back down at Vil and smiled only as a father can. Vil returned the smile, although it was more of a smirk. Ah, that boy. He'd have to learn how to smile properly someday. "Come on, Vil," Dr. Geary said, leading Vil by the shoulder, "let's go find your mother and Tamara."

Police soon flowed through the building, apprehending members of Greybaum. One particular officer, called Duncan, seemed like he could burst from the joy. He was ordering officers around as though he was the squad captain. The true captain, a woman named Kris, normally had to restrain him and change orders.

The young, yet talented, commander, Vil, was sent to the hospital to be treated for injuries. The fight with Hadron and the back-to-back fights even before Hadron had severely drained him of his energy.

Neobrain, the company that Dr. Geary worked for, long suspected to be working with Greybaum, was acquitted by Lambda Ltd. Thanks to Lambda Halburn's corporation, Dr. Geary and Tamara were cleared of all suspicion.

Liv lost the ability to transfer energy to others, but she was far happier being able to dive again, allowing her a participating part in her team, the Numero Unos. She's still having trouble with the incident though, but I'm sure that she and Eddy are working it out.

Vil's father still wonders about Neobrain and the incident since Hadron was made by Vil's skill and power and Liv's energy. It had surpassed the power of any custom robo, but, still I wonder... what _was_ Hadron?

* * *

The boy walked away from his current hiding spot, the corner of a building in Vil's neighborhood, his face concealed by a mask that covered his entire face except around his eyes. The sides of the mask pointed outwards like as if his ears were elven, but they had a hard quality to them.

He wore a long, navy blue shirt underneath a sleeveless jacket. His pants were a typical blue jean. His shoes were made of durable leather, but they were tearing slightly. Fingerless gloves were pulled over a full-hand glove.

_I'm the only one of my kind, _the boy thought, despairing at his uniqueness, _and no one pays attention to me. They focus on Vil, not me._ No, hatred didn't fill his heart. Just... loneliness.

Hadron had been the closest thing to him.

Indeed, this boy was the first custom robo to be built the same size as a human. Soon after being deemed as a failure, he was released into the cold world. Left to sort out his confused feelings.

Left alone.

He didn't even understand why they had abandoned him. They had pressed him into several battles against other robos, robos meant for holleseums, and he, oddly, failed every single one of them... but... why did they turn him away?

He sighed as he neared the other city that had the harbor. Maybe it was time to _try_ to socialize and fit in?

One touch of the extensions on the sides of his head told him that it wouldn't be possible. At least, not without something else covering them. Something like a baseball helmet, but not as questionable.

He looked up into the cold night sky. He was so much like a human when concealing himself like he was, yet he was not and noticeably not.

He kicked a stone all of the way through the alleys to the harbor. He didn't have to worry about criminals now, most likely. Greybaum had been behind them, so he heard. Now that Greybaum was disbanded, everything would probably run a lot smoother.

The sloshing of the tide hitting the harbor was close now and it comforted the boy robo. He got onto the harbor, kicking the stone away.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" a man, about twenty three years old, asked, startling the boy. "It's late."

"Well... I... uh..." The boy knew who this man was. From the blackish-grey hair and the ornately decorated robe, it would be hard to miss him and also hard to not know who he was. This was Shipley, someone who had come with Vil to the Robo Cup tournament, sent by an older man named Stark.

"It doesn't bother me that you're out," Shipley continued, folding his arms inside the sleeves of his robe. "I prefer to watch the ocean alone though."

"Um, I like watching it too," the boy said quietly. He wasn't sure if Shipley heard him since the experienced man didn't respond. "M-mind if I watch it too? I normally come out here to watch." _And sleep, for that matter._ The man nodded.

"You have a name?"

The boy looked up, startled. Nobody had ever asked him that question before. Technically, his name was Ray MK X, but that would not do. It would give him away and he'd probably get reported and then he might go to the smelting pots.

"Um, it's Ray, sir," the boy said, bowing slightly. Why he bowed, he wasn't sure. It was probably just nervousness and awe.

"Just Ray?" Shipley asked, his stature commanding respect. He looked down at the boy. "You have a last name, I'm assuming."

"Um, yes sir," Ray MK X said. "My last name is..." He panicked for just a second. "McKay."

"Ray Mckay." The man mulled it over in his mind, saying it again and again. "Very well, Ray McKay. You may stand by me."

Ray MK X shuffled over to Shipley's side, feeling smaller than ever. It was hard to enjoy the sounds of the waves, the touch of sea spray, the sight of the full moon, with Shipley by his side.

"Is there a reason why you like the ocean at night?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?"

"I like it when people share common interests." Shipley gazed across the water unwaveringly. "I also like to make sure they aren't lying."

Ray sighed. There wasn't much harm to his questions. They were simple truth-finders.

"I like the feel the water on my face," Ray MK said, beginning slowly. "It soothes me when I feel lonely." Which was all of the time. "The look of the moon also helps me... sometimes."

"Just sometimes?" Shipley asked. "Why only sometimes?"

Ray stared up at the moon before answering. "I feel like when it's full, as it is now, it's happy to see me. When it's a new moon and I can barely see its outline, I feel like it's displeased and is hiding from me."

Shipley nodded. "Hmm..."

They remained silent and Ray stared down at his feet. Maybe Shipley was mad? He didn't seem like the kind to get passionate over simple things, so his anger would most likely be hidden, only distaste showing.

"Few people think as you do, Ray," Shipley finally said. Ray frowned, confused. Shipley must've seen his expression without moving his head. "Yes, they don't. Few people even enjoy the ocean for its calming qualities, the moon for its moods. Is there anything else that you enjoy?"

Ray pondered it for a moment. "That's really it. The sound of the waves is also a factor though." He stared out over the vast expanse of water that stretched to the horizon. "When there's a storm, I'm afraid. The waves become angry. I feel their hatred. When they're calm, as they are now," he motioned towards them with his head, "I feel peace. Sometimes love, when it splashes light droplets on my face."

The duo became silent, Shipley nodding thoughtfully. The boy no longer felt afraid of Shipley, nor nervous. They shared one thing: the love of the ocean.

"I must be going," Shipley said, turning away. "Stark will not be pleased if I stay too long." Shipley looked to the east, towards a tall mountain. Ray followed his gaze and nodded.

Mount Zephyr. The most predominant mountain of the region, most likely due to Stark's teaching of Soulboost, the ability to increase a robo's power for a few moments. It was an interesting power. One that was done through the bonding of robo, commander, and the commander's skill. Maybe more. He hadn't heard too much of what it was when he had been spying on Dennis, Liv, and Vil when they were trying to get it.

Ray broke out of his thoughts and looked around. Shipley was gone, heading back to Mount Zephyr. The boy sighed, disappointed. He finally met someone, and that someone was rarely in the city in the day. Even in the night, it was hard to find him. Ray had never encountered him in a private setting like this before, and he had been to the ocean several times.

Ray slowly walked back down the alley he had come from, wallowing in his own misery. There was no purpose to him. He was built for combat, yet he was very bad at it. Why had they made him? More importantly, why didn't they scrap him?

"You there! Halt!"

The boy froze in his tracks, looking up at the voice, startled. _A cop!_ His instincts told him to run, but his rational mind told him that he could get attacked by a custom robo if he did that. And, apparently, they were better smaller than larger.

"Oh. It's just a kid," the cop said, his robo cube in his hand. "You should be in bed. It's way past curfew."

"Sorry, um, sir," the boy said. "I'll get to that right away." _Rooftop tonight... or garbage can?_ No, the sky was clear. It shouldn't rain.

"I'll escort you home," the cop said. He was shaking slightly. The boy tilted his head to the side as he walked towards the officer. This man...

Oh, this was Duncan. He still needed to learn not to shake in front of opponents, even _potential_ opponents. Ray was hardly a threat.

"No thanks, I can find my own way home," Ray said, walking past Duncan. He stopped as a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked up into the shocked officer's face.

"What're you doing with a mask and football equipment?"

_Football equipment? _Ray tried to figure out what he meant. _Ohhh... my metal exterior._

"I came back from a football match from school and forgot to take those off," the boy said. "I'll return them in the morning, though it'd be a waste of time since I have football practice tomorrow as well."

Duncan looked over the slim boy robot. It wasn't the best lie he had ever heard, but probably not the worst one either.

"Why the face mask?" Duncan had avoided the football equipment and gone for something more substantial. Now the boy began to shake.

"Well, I, uh, had..." Ray began.

"Come with me," Duncan said, grabbing Ray by the hand. "I've gotta take you to the station."

"But I haven't done anything!" Ray said. "You can't take me! Frisk me! I don't have anything!"

Duncan didn't care. He continued to drag the pleading boy through the streets from the harbor into the central town. Ray groaned. It was all over now? He was going to the scrap metal shop? He should've been glad to finally have the chance to be scrapped, but a piece of him wanted to hang on to life.

As such, he kicked and screamed all of the way through the center of the cities.

"Duncan?" a young, yet strong voice, asked. Duncan and Ray turned and Ray smiled gratefully.

"It's Vil!" Ray exclaimed. "Vil, save me!"

The boy stood alone in the street, wearing his blue jacket and jeans, his red hair swept forward. His face was serious as he looked up at the older man. Vil was a force that few could stand against for long.

"Duncan, what's going on?" the boy asked. Ray could tell that he had an influence on Duncan due to his superior combat abilities.

"Well, I just was nabbing this kid," Duncan said, smiling nervously. "He looked suspicious."

"Did you check to make sure he has nothing on him?" Vil asked, walking a step closer. Duncan colored.

"I'll do it right now," Duncan said. He patted Ray down, making sure that Ray didn't have a robo cube. "No robo cube, although his armor makes it hard to tell."

"Football practice?" Vil said. Duncan nodded. "Was he doing anything suspicious?"

Vil's question made Duncan pause and Ray knew that Vil had gotten Duncan. Ray smiled, grateful that Vil had decided to stay up and help guard the town this night.

"Just walking down an alley with this assortment," Duncan said. "Although, he didn't look like he was trying to catch some innocent passerby."

"Then let him go," Vil said calmly, barely giving Duncan time to finish his sentence. "We can't just arrest everyone."

Duncan nodded, tugging at his collar. "Right. No, we can't." He let go of Ray's wrist. "But we need to make sure he gets home all right."

Vil grinned, using that same smirk as always. He walked up to Ray and stared him straight in the eyes. Ray's eyes darted back and forth, wondering what Vil was planning.

"I'll take him home. You continue your routine, Duncan," Vil said. "I'm pretty sure that, robo cube or no, he's no trouble."

Duncan smiled, looking relieved. "All right, Vil. You're the best, so I trust you."

Duncan left down an alley and Ray caught Vil looking in his eyes again. He jumped.

"Stop doing that!" Ray said, jumping a little distance away.

"Sorry," Vil said, frowning slightly. "Habit from fighting so much recently, I guess."

"You stare at people while you fight?"

Vil nodded, walking past him. "Of course! It's the only way to fight." He paused and laughed. "Well, in my opinion at least."

Ray followed Vil, having a little bit of trouble keeping up with the boy's fast pace. He was probably still doing that from habit as well.

They walked in silence, Vil clueless about where Ray "lived". Ray felt more comfortable with Vil though. More than with Duncan. Maybe it was time to tell. Ray sighed.

"Vil," he began.

"Hmm? Oh. Sorry about that," Vil said, stopping and turning towards Ray. "I never found out where you lived."

"I, uh... don't have a home," Ray said. Vil tilted his head and seemed to pity Ray.

"No... home?" Vil repeated.

"Nope."

Vil put his hand on his chin thoughtfully and began tapping his foot on the ground. He paced back and forth. Finally, he stopped.

"You can sleep with me," he said calmly. "I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't mind." He grinned again.

"A-are you, uh... you know... sure?" Ray asked.

Vil nodded. "Absolutely! I don't think they'd mind at all." That _was_ true. Vil had very nice parents. His parents were probably the best in the entire neighborhood. "You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Really?" Ray asked excitedly.

"Heck, no," Vil snorted. Ray frowned. Vil looked at Ray and laughed, causing Ray MK to raise an eyebrow. "I'm just joking. C'mon."

Vil led him back the way they had come, only taking a slightly different route almost at the end of their journey.

Ray had seen Vil's house many times. It was the largest in the city and the best looking one as well. It only had three bedrooms, but that was perfect for Vil's family since there was a room for him, his sister Tamara, and his parents. He had found all of this out by dextrously breaking in and looking around when some member of the family wasn't around.

However, it was probably best to feign ignorance at the current time.

Vil opened the door and was greeted by his mother. He returned the greeting and seated himself at the table at his mother's request.

"Oh. I didn't see the boy behind you," she said as Ray took small steps inside. It felt much more... relaxing to break in instead of being invited.

"Oh, this is..." Vil raised an eyebrow.

"Ray," the boy said quietly, amused at Vil forgetting to ask him his name.

"Yeah, this is Ray." Vil grinned. "He doesn't have anywhere to sleep, so I was wondering if we could house him for a while."

"No place at all?" his mother asked, her hand over her mouth in surprise. "No father? No mother?"

Vil shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Of course he can stay! I'll just set out an extra place for him and get another chair."

Ray stood still as though petrified. He couldn't eat. He didn't need to. At least, not in the way that humans ate. He was built to be a custom robo and a custom robo he would always be. He didn't feed like humans did. Even now, he was feeding. He was always feeding. It was what kept him going. It's what kept all custom robos going.

Brain waves.

He felt a little guilty about feeding off of Vil's mind energy, but he had a lot and he didn't need it right now. Vil probably wouldn't even notice the slight drop in how much energy he had.

"Ray?"

Ray quickly shook his head at the mother's inquiry. "No, I'm fine. I usually get some money to eat. I ate before I came here." A part of him wanted to tell them the truth, but he knew he couldn't do that. If he did, he'd go to the scrap pile.

He _could_ fight them, if he wanted, but he could only use his fists. Since he had been sent away from that lab where he was created, they stripped him of all the weaponry that _could_ make him lethal. He didn't hate the scientists that had done this, of course. He didn't even know if he was even capable of feeling hate.

"Well, if you're tired, you can go ahead and sleep in my room," Vil stated, sitting down in his chair.

"Honey, we're home!" Vil's father said as he walked in. Tamara, Vil's sister, followed and stood by his side.

"What a day!" she said.

"Just in time. I was just about to set the table," Vil's mother said, smiling.

"Oh," Tamara said, walking up to Vil's side. "Who's your friend, Vil?"

"Oh, this is Ray," Vil said, grinning. A part of Ray wanted to slap Vil for using that grin all of the time, but Vil probably didn't know. He probably didn't do it intentionally.

The family sat around the table. "He's going to stay with us for a while," Vil's mother said. "Just until he gets on his feet, right Vil?" Vil nodded.

"But he could stay longer, couldn't he? If he wanted?" Vil asked, taking the first bite of food.

"Um, should we really be eating without him?" Tamara asked. "In front of his face too, I might add."

"No, it's fine," Ray said, taking a step back. "I'm fine. I already ate. I just need to go to bed. I'm a little tired."

"Yeah," Vil said, taking another bite. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch while he's here. He's sleeping in my room."

Tamara's face became like a blank slate, blinking from time to time. "O...kay." Ray used his foot to scratch his leg. "Oh, restrooms are upstairs if you need them."

Ray tilted his head to the side. _Restrooms?_ He didn't understand why she had brought that up. Maybe she was being hospitable, but it seemed a radical transition. To Ray, at least.

"Okay. Thanks," he said. He began the ascent upstairs, looking at the unadorned walls. There was more to this house, true, but the parts of the house that were used more frequently were relatively modest.

He found Vil's room and opened the door. He nodded, noting that nothing had changed ever since he last spied on Vil. Vil's room was _very_ modest. It barely contained anything except a closet, his bed, a desk, a few posters, as well as a few robo cubes. Apparently he didn't carry all of them around with him.

Slowly, Ray closed the door and locked it. Most likely, someone might get annoyed, but they wouldn't take it too hard. For now, he needed his privacy.

He pulled off his jacket, and then his shirt, revealing the black metal exterior of his chest and the dark blue of his shoulders and arms. His legs carried the same dark blue color and his feet were a white color. Finally, he took off his mask.

His hair was a dark pink, something he didn't really enjoy, and swept backwards, spiking over slightly. He didn't have a mouth, as most custom robos didn't and his nose was also nonexistent. White and black rounded points stuck out from where his ears should have been, extending to the back of his head and to the same level as his mouth.

His body was built like the Ray MK III's, blocky at the shoulders and smooth on the upper arms and legs. His chest was also formed like a Ray MK III. It had some dips where the armor overlapped, but was smooth for the most part. His forearms were rounded, unlike the Ray MK III. The Ray MK III had arms that had gaps to fit weapons. His didn't and he couldn't mount guns on. This always brought up a certain question. Was he even built to be a combat robot?

He dug in under the sheets, pulling them tightly around him. The feel of the sheets were bland, his sensors unable to pick up the full texture. He couldn't feel the textures of a lot of things unless he was holding them or touching them with his face that looked like real skin. This seemed to contradict his question of not being a combat robot. If he wasn't a combat robot, why couldn't he feel things as well as he should? Of course, his perceptions on the texture of the fabric were based on third-hand experience.

During his construction, he was kept partially conscious. Researchers had told him what the cloth should feel like, but he never felt it. It was a bland feel, very different from what the scientists had said.

Slowly, Ray's eyes drooped while he wondered what would happen the next day. Would he be discovered?

Most likely not...


	2. Run

Ray was partially awake. Awake enough to hear steps walking up to the door and then the rattling of the doorknob.

"What the?" Vil's laugh rang through the door. "C'mon, Ray, you gotta get up!" Ray scrambled out of bed and hurriedly began pulling his clothes on again. "I wanna show you to the others at school today!"

Ray froze. _No, no, no! No, you can't do that to me!_ Ray thought, despairing at his luck. Of _course_ Vil would take him to school. He wouldn't just leave him at the house. Ray groaned. "Just hang on! Gotta get my clothes on!"

"Going commando style in my bed? Guess I'll wash the sheets." Vil chuckled and Ray sighed. For how silent Vil was normally, he sure did joke around a lot at home. "All right, well breakfast is ready. Come down and eat when you're ready."

_Why me?_ Ray thought despairingly. He couldn't say that he wasn't hungry. They'd get suspicious. What _could _he say this time? He didn't really like lying to them. It just wasn't in his nature... or programming? Did his programming determine his nature or was that just something that emerged? He couldn't remember. It had been so long ago since he had been abandoned.

He opened the door and slowly walked down the stairs into the dining room where the rest of the family sat around the table. The food hadn't even been touched yet. They had been waiting for him. He grinned and waved nervously. His cheeks would have colored if they had that function. He was aware of what he should feel and how he should react accordingly. That's how it was with humans.

He sat down in his chair at the table, Vil on his right side and Tamara on his left side. Vil took the first bite and everyone began eating the modest breakfast. Everyone except Ray. He wasn't built with an anatomy. He couldn't digest. He didn't even have a mouth.

"You can take the mask off, Ray," Vil's mother said. "I'm sure you're hungry now."

"Actually..." Ray rubbed where humans had stomachs and tried to look sick. "I feel kind of nauseous."

"Dang..." Vil said. "I guess you won't be coming to school with me then?"

_Killing two birds with one stone,..._ Ray thought. He nodded. "Yeah, I won't be able to come. I just need to rest." _And escape._

"All right," Vil said, looking down at his food, disappointed. His disappointment didn't last long. He soon looked back up, a large smirk on his face. "But you'll come tomorrow, right?" Ray looked at Vil, hoping that his shock wasn't visible through the mask.

"Um, yeah... sure." _Nooooooo!_

"Sweet! I'll let Liv and Dennis know," Vil said, grinning. "Just be careful of Liv. She can be..."

"A little bossy, I know," Ray said. He soon grimaced. He had implied that he knew about Liv and her mannerisms.

"Oh, you know her?" Vil's mother asked. Ray nodded. "How'd you meet her?"

_I'm off to a great start..._ He hated lying, but he was stuck. It was either the lie or the scrap yard. "I never met her personally. I just watched her and Eddy when she was his Support, as well as other times."

"Really? When did she display that elsewhere?" Vil asked, taking a bite of his oatmeal, a meal fit for those much poorer.

Once again, Ray was stuck. _Please... please, just stop..._ He put his hand on his forehead and bent over slightly. "These questions aren't helping my nausea..."

"I'll take him upstairs," Vil's mother said.

"No, I will," Vil said, getting out of his chair and lifting Ray. "Seriously though. You've gotta take that football armor off."

Ray chuckled. They went back up the stairs, Ray trying to act like he was weak, but it was difficult to make sure that he wasn't overplaying it. He was also wrestling with his feelings of betraying them. It felt wrong to be lying to them like this. His own thinking about this brought his focus into his thoughts instead of on walking with Vil.

"I'll be back from school soon," Vil said as they entered his room.

Ray frowned as Vil smirked. Someday he'd need to learn to stop that. It'd probably be Ray that would teach... well, _show_ him how other people smiled and grinned. He couldn't smile himself, so he'd have to bring Vil's attention to his mother's smile. Then show him his dad's, then Dennis's, then a bunch of others'.

"What will I do until you get back?" Ray asked.

Vil shrugged, giving an expression that asked "how would I know?"

"I dunno," Vil said, walking towards the door. "Rest?" He turned back to Ray. "You _are_ feeling nauseous, right?" Ray nodded. "The sooner you rest, the sooner you'll be over it."

Vil left the door open as he left, not bothering to close it. This only made Ray feel more vulnerable. He felt as if he was being watched, even though he knew he wasn't. He hated the feeling of being welcome. It was so foreign from what he had experienced throughout his life.

_Gotta get out of here!_ he thought frantically. He jumped of the bed and landed lightly on the ground. He walked quietly to the window and peeked out of it, hiding behind the wall to minimize exposure to the outside world.

Kids walked, ran, and walked backwards while talking to friends as they headed towards school. It was like a mob forming... _Mobs..._

He froze slightly. He hated crowds of people. It reminded him of the chase that his researchers did when he escaped from the line of the scrap yard. Those were terrible nights. Especially when he knew that if anything caught him, it was all over for him. Why was he so weak? How come the other robos that were much smaller could disable his systems? Why?

He sighed and opened the window as the last of the kids ran past. He vaulted out and hit the ground rolling. He immediately broke into a sprint for just long enough to give him and the house some distance. Then he slowed his pace down, shoving his hands into his pockets. His gaze dropped to look down at his feet. Inside, he wanted to pull his disguise off and show the world that he was a robo, but he knew he couldn't do that. He would be hunted again and possibly captured. Then, it would be back to the scrap pile.

He walked a few more feet forward.

"I'm _laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ate!_"

He lost his balance as a flurry of pink ran past him. It didn't take long before he knew who the pink blur was. Who else wore pink and was late for school? It was amazing, actually. After all that Liv had been through, she was still the same. Still cheery, and still late for school.

"Hey Liv!" Ray called out, waving his hand wildly. His hand stopped in mid-wave, and he regretted calling out to her.

"Hi!" she called back, turning and waving while still running. "Can't talk now! I'm _laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate!_" She turned back and sprinted more resolutely, determined to get to school.

He was glad that she was late this time. If she could stop and talk, that would be one more danger to him being discovered. Speaking of being discovered... he was surprised that Vil's father hadn't known what Ray was. After all, his livelihood was researching and designing custom robos. Ray MK X's design should have been familiar to Dr. Geary since Ray MK X was based off of the other Ray models.

Ray paused for a moment, wondering where he should go. Part of him wanted to be left alone, the other part of him wanted to hang around and see if he could talk to Liv or even Dennis.

"Hey! You!" another voice called out to his side. Vil turned and paled.

A group of cops, including Duncan, was coming towards him. Ray took a step back, aware that they had their robo cubes in their hands. They had found him.

"You are under arrest for escaping the research facilities of NeoBrain," Duncan said, shaking slightly as was his habit.

"I... I..." Ray said, backing slowly towards Hillside, where Mount Zephyr was located. "Why?"

"It is against the law to let prototypes wander around free since they are incomplete experiments and could potentially be dangerous."

Ray's mind started working at full speed, and his eyes darted around everywhere. Unfortunately, his concentration also started to sag because of the shock of it all. Cops, arrest, prototype, dangerous... dangerous?

"I'm not dangerous!" he said. He fell over backwards and crawled a short distance before getting back on his feet. "You know that! I failed the tests!"

"Regardless, it is in our duty to retire you, X," Duncan said shakily. He held out his robo cube threateningly. "Either you come with us willingly, or we force you to comply to the law."

"How did you even find me?" Ray said, watching the robo cubes with wide eyes. He didn't want to fight those. Especially ten of them at the same time.

"We found your picture posted in our files," Duncan said. "I knew I recognized you from somewhere."

Ray began to shake, and the only thing he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cover his face. Being cornered, robos threatening to eliminate him, it was just like the last test they ran on him. The test in which he just sat down and covered his face. After that, he ran from the company... Neobrain...

Why? Why did they torture him like that? Maybe they didn't consider it torture, but it was painful to him. Everyday, it was another round of scrapes, tears, and sobs.

He felt his legs moving and soon realized he was running. The cops cried out in surprise and hurled their robo cubes after him. Ray didn't stop running. This was his only chance. If he just sat down and cried, the robos would be sure to destroy him. Running was his only option, seeing as how he lacked weapons.

He clutched a tiny locket that he kept around his neck and under his shirt as he ran, needing to grab something but also to make sure that, if one robo managed to latch onto his neck and accidentally sever the chain that the locket connected to, the locket wouldn't be dropped and lost to the robos.

The first one latched onto his leg, and he tried shaking it off. It held on stubbornly, driving its drill into his leg. -The only advantage Ray had to being big was his armor was tougher.- He tried swatting it off with his hand, but this only slowed him down and gave the opportunity for more robos to grab onto him. He yelped and kept running, trying to ignore the small pricks that the robos were making in his armor.

Parents and teenagers alike threw open windows as they saw him run. Some watched breathlessly, others cried out in shock, the rest only gave confused expressions. He didn't mind that they did what they did, he was just glad that they weren't chasing him as well.

He crossed into Hillside and began to head towards Mt. Zephyr's forest. If he could make it there, he could lose the cops, at least, then try to get the robos off of him. He wanted to smile, pleased at his own thinking, but he couldn't. Didn't have the mechanical parts for that.

Someone stepped out in front of him, and he tried to run around the person. The stranger stuck his arm out, catching Ray in the neck, throwing him off his feet. _What?_ Ray thought.

He hit the ground with a loud thud, his head hitting the pavement. He struggled to get to his feet, disoriented from the fall. The stranger kicked him back down, and his head hit the pavement again. He cried out from the pain and held his head, curling up slightly.

_Why?_ he thought, following his programming and making sobbing sounds. Yet another program that confused him. Why could he make sobbing actions if he was a combat robot?

The robos crawled towards his torso, threatening to deactivate him once again. If they reached his head, they could equip a special weapon that basically knocked out the target in one hit. It was a modified weapon, military grade, illegal for police use and definitely civilian use. Someone from SWAT or something like that might've issued it, but the weapons were tiny to his eyes, so he could never tell if one had it equipped or not. If he was lucky, this police force didn't. However, his luck hadn't been that good lately.

He tried getting up again, and the person brought his foot down. Ray cried out and closed his eyes, shielding himself with his arm. The leg and his arm connected.

It was almost like something physically _snapped_ in his brain. Like a wire or something. It felt like it, but the next thing Ray knew, the person was on the ground, his leg caught in Ray's grasp.

Ray backed up slightly, stunned at what he thought must've happened. When the leg hit him, he must have grabbed it and flipped the man over.

No time to wonder about it, though. He broke into a sprint again, past the wondering man. Hurriedly, he crushed one robo underneath his fist. They were so close to his head now. Flailing his arms frantically, he managed to knock one off his neck.

Tearing past more civilians, he was about five seconds away from the passage to Mt. Zephyr. Then he'd be free. He just needed to get the robos off now.

More robos flew from his body as he slapped them away until all of them were off. Good, now he could escape and try to find a new city to reside in for a while. He would probably have to adopt city-jumping tactics. He wanted to frown. He didn't really like moving around a lot. He would have preferred to stay in one city for a while, but fortune, it seems, had other plans for him.

He entered the boundaries of the forest, and he made the closest expression as possible to ecstasy. "I'm free!"

The ledge was too close for him to react quick enough. He fell over it, twisting around and managing to grab onto a root that protruded from the canyon wall. He breathed heavily, looking around for a way to climb back up and to a safe way around the man-made canyon.

He had heard about this canyon. It used to be a trench in one of the wars that had hit the land years ago, then it became a stream, then, due to periods of drought and rain, the soil had rapidly been carried away downstream. Now, at the bottom of the canyon, the stream lay, but it was about a fifty foot drop.

A shadow dropped over him, and he froze. One of the cops had actually taken the effort to follow him into the forest. He had figured that they would let the robos do all of the work. He didn't think that the cops were that close.

"Hello, Ray."

Ray closed his eyes, despairing at his misfortune. Why, out of all the people, did he have to meet with this one? This was the man that had made him. The one that came up with his concept and technical design. This man was known as Thomas Xavier Light.

"Why are you here?" Ray asked, loathe to look up into his maker's eyes. It was like looking up to God. Both the maker and God held all of the power.

"I'm looking for my creation that just ran off without saying goodbye. You know that's rude, Ray. I programmed that into you. You shoul-"

"I know!" Ray shouted, shutting his eyes tight. "I know what my programming is! I live with it everyday and struggle to find out why I was made with certain functions!"

"Don't interrupt, Ray," Thomas Light said calmly, not startled in the least by his creation's outburst. If he was, he did not show it. Then again, Ray couldn't really expect him to show a lot of emotion. He had never had a lot of emotion... unless he was talking about the next creation after Ray. That one's model name would technically be Ray MK XI, but Light had decided to name it Rock. Probably because he planned on building another robot called Roll. "Now are you going to be a good boy and come up, or do I have to use my own robo on you?"

_Come back to you... and get sent back to the scrap pile? Or fall, get damaged, possibly knocked out if I plan it right... _Ray thought. At the least, being torn and smelted apart at the scrap pile would be painless if he was knocked out...

_But there must be some other way..._

The inventor's cube dropped to the ground and began to shift into full form, a drill forming on its right arm. Ray panicked and his arm tensed, refusing to let go of the root. He didn't want to get hurt. He knew this, and his body knew it, and so it refused to let go of the root, even if a robo was planning on hurting him anyway.

A second later, the robo was on his face, its drill feeling like a hornet, although more like a hornet spinning around with barbs hooked to its stinger.

Ray swiped at it with his hand, but it nimbly jumped over and landed on his nose. Ray watched in horror as its arm drew back, and...

His hand let go as the pain shot from his eye. He screamed, holding his eye as he fell down the canyon. The next blast of pain emitted from the bridge of his nose, and he swiped there but didn't feel any contact. He opened his one good eye to try to find it. It was right in front of that eye, bent over. His arm moved to smash it. He soon found out why it had been bending over.

The missile from the robo's back hit his other eye, making him completely blind. His scream became a howl of pain, and he slapped blindly at his face. He heard a slight crunch, then felt the blow of the ground.

Darkness...


End file.
